PNW Linguistic Field Recordings

Pacific Northwest Collection Audio Preservation Project for Storing Field Recordings of Native American Languages in ResearchWorks/DSpace

Application Profile

UW Libraries Special Collections holds field research materials (notebooks, audio materials, motion pictures, etc.) created by linguists beginning in the 1950’s. Most of these materials fall within two collections: The Jacobs Research Fund Collection and The Northwest Linguistics Collections.

This project is concerned with the preservation of audio materials relating to Northwest indigenous languages. Access to the bulk of the field recordings is currently restricted, but future donations may be open to public listening, and it is likely that linguists will retroactively grant permission for public access (this is a separate project).

MARC records exist for these collections at the accession level and include a note as to the languages covered in the accession. The records do not contain item level detail and accession can contain up to over 300 audio items covering a diversity of languages created by numerous linguists.

This project covers: preservation assessment of audio materials, the creation of a digital files, and metadata at the item level.

Master WAV files will be uploaded to DSpace for preservation purposes (24 bit/48khz). If access has been granted a use copy will be created (44.1/16) which will be accessible on compact disc in Special Collections.

Files will go in DSpace collection:

University Libraries Administrative Documents [no public access]> Special Collections > PNW Field Recordings

Element and description

Example

Dublin Core Qualified Field

Title

Type of recording (songs, interview, intonations or generically described as a field recording) followed by the informant’s name, the indigenous language spoken, the date recorded. Also list the track number of the recording.

Field recording of Minnie Scovall in Sahaptin on May 15, 1965. Track 1.